Even though they all reside in the Armory on the western end of campus, not much interaction happens between the three ROTC units. Army ROTC sits parallel to the Air Force ROTC on the second floor and the Navy NROTC has found a home on the first floor of the Armory.

But on Sunday, the ROTC branches came together at the ISU soccer game against Kansas to celebrate Military Appreciation Day.

Before the game, the ROTC programs hosted military-inspired activities that were designed to help honor former and current service men and women, along with local recruiter booths, so interested students could find out more information about the programs.

Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Harrison, assistant marine officer instructor, helped coordinate the events for the weekend.

Harrison said they had an inflatable drill instructor, pull-up bars and information about the program at the Marine booth before the game.

Midshipmen Adam Pollard, senior in interdisciplinary studies, participated in both the tug-of-war game and helped out at the booth.

Pollard helped by counting how many pull-ups people could do along with hosting competitions to see who could do the most pull-ups or the longest flex-arm hang.

AROTC and the AFROTC also had booths before the game.

The AFROTC drill team led a performance to kick off the game. The ROTC programs joined each other for an intense game of tug-of-war during halftime.

With teams of six, AROTC battled it out with AFROTC, and AROTC came out victorious. The Navy and the Marines then competed in a round, and the Marines emerged victorious. For the final round, AROTC defeated the Marines.

“I enjoyed the fact that all the branches could come together to compete,” Pollard said. “It’s always great to have a friendly competition and build relationships between the services because one day we may be working with them.”

Midshipmen Caleb Smith, junior in civil engineering, participated in the tug-of-war game because of the unit participation encouraged by other midshipmen. 

“It’s a great way for the university to respect those who serve, and the importance lies within the universities prioritizing such recognition,” Smith said.

Smith also said he enjoyed cheering on the marine midshipmen in the final tug-of-war round the most.

Pollard, who is in the Marine branch, said he joined the tug-of-war game because he thought he could add a lot to the Marine team.

“If you don’t know, there is a lot of rivalry between the branches of the military, and the Marines pride themselves on being the best,” Pollard said. “I wanted to make sure we at least put up a good fight. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but we gave each of the other branches a run for their money.”

After the tug-of-war game, the AROTC branch concluded halftime by contracting nine new cadets into the military. This ceremony honors the newly contracted cadets who have made the final commitment to the U.S. Army and ROTC program.

The newly contracted cadets include Elija Smith, Alex Shum, Joyce Mercado, Thomas Holliday, Sam Koch, Amanda Pennock, William O’Hora, Christian Nelson, David Pauls, Grant Helwig, Zachary Feussley, Thomas Kelly, Charles Borman and Mitchell Jecklin.

AROTC also awarded six USAA scholarships to MS IV cadets.

“Military Appreciation Day is important because I feel like there a lot of people on campus and in the community that sometimes forget about what we do and how hard we work,” Pollard said. “It’s always great to honor all the military branches and thank the individuals in them for all that they do for us.”